AVS Forum banner

The official Dolby Atmos thread (home theater version) – Check out post 1 first

5M views 69K replies 3K participants last post by  GMil 
#1 · (Edited)
Last update: 02.04.2023



Official Dolby Atmos at home website

Dolby on Atmos for the home
Dolby Atmos Speaker Setup
Ceiling-firing speakers ("Atmos-enabled speakers")
http://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/dolby-atmos/dolby-atmos-enabled-speaker-technology.pdf
Speaker installation guidelines
http://www.dolby.com/us/en/technolo...tmos-home-theater-installation-guidelines.pdf
If you're more the visual type of guy here's a good video explaining the basics of placing your Atmos speakers:

Insights from a recording and mixing engineer


Technical specification for studios wishing to employ a 7.1.4 home entertainment Dolby Atmos monitoring setup
Dolby Atmos Home Entertainment Studio
Certification Guide


Blog posts
Dolby Atmos: Coming soon to a living room near you - Lab Notes
Dolby Atmos for home theaters: FAQ - Lab Notes


Dolby Patent Application
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/WO2014036085A1.html


Dolby on Atmos for movie theaters
Wayback Machine

Specifications for movie theaters
Wayback Machine


How Atmos content is created
Wayback Machine


How Atmos is encoded into TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus
https://professional.dolby.com/site...on/dolby-atmos/dolby_atmos_renderer_guide.pdf


avsforum.com Members Atmos & Auro Configuration Spreadsheet (at Google Docs, maintained by user kokishin)


Atmos test tone downloads (E-AC-3 audio in .mp4 container)
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/guide/test-tones.html

Other Dolby trailer downloads
 
See less See more
#4,281 · (Edited)
I don't want to rent codecs either. I would, however, pay a little more if a new audio codec (like DTS-UHD) comes out and my DSP can be flashed to include it. However, A/V codecs don't come out too often, so I wouldn't have to keep paying over and over and over and over and... like some of these "pay all the time or you lose the ability to use our product" types of services that are popping up right and left like greedy weeds.

What I was thinking of was a model where you could "try" a new codec (e.g. Auro or DTS-UHD) for, say, 7 or 14 days, either for free as part of a maintenance package, or for a small fee, enough to try some streamed content or possibly a rented shiny disc or two, and decide if it was for you. If so, you pay for the full version either perpetually (if you really want it) or a specific amount of time (i.e. a longer trial, or if you want to see if a meaningful degree of content comes out).

The problem IMO with the whole Atmos thing is that you've got to shell out a few thousand bucks + two/four new speakers, and it's going to be useless to you unless a) there's Atmos content you want to buy/stream or b) Dolby Surround provides enough benefit and uses those Atmos speakers to simulate the Atmos effect, which is a huge unknown right now. And it doesn't hurt to have the patience to wait until the stuff you really want to experience in true Atmos hits the market.
 
#4,282 ·
What I was thinking of was a model where you could "try" a new codec (e.g. Auro or DTS-UHD) for, say, 7 or 14 days, either for free as part of a maintenance package, or for a small fee, enough to try some streamed content or possibly a rented shiny disc or two, and decide if it was for you. If so, you pay for the full version either perpetually (if you really want it) or a specific amount of time (i.e. a longer trial, or if you want to see if a meaningful degree of content comes out).


The problem IMO with the whole Atmos thing is that you've got to shell out a few thousand bucks + two/four new speakers, and it's going to be useless to you unless a) there's Atmos content you want to buy/stream or b) Dolby Surround provides enough benefit and uses those Atmos speakers to simulate the Atmos effect, which is a huge unknown right now. And it doesn't hurt to have the patience to wait until the stuff you really want to experience in true Atmos hits the market.
However, if you want to trial rent a codec... especially something like Atmos... you would still need to buy the extra speakers and install them or you wouldn't be able to try it out anyway.

And again, I'm not going to pay perpetually to keep my surround processor running. :eek: Companies can just stuff that idea.
 
#4,283 · (Edited)
However, if you want to trial rent a codec... especially something like Atmos... you would still need to buy the extra speakers and install them or you wouldn't be able to try it out anyway.

And again, I'm not going to pay perpetually to keep my surround processor running. :eek: Companies can just stuff that idea.

True - but you can buy a pair of those Onkyo add-ons for $500 at a Best Buy, try Atmos in my hypothetical purchase model, and still be within the return policy. Or if you already have the speakers, you might be able to use one configuration (not optimal, but better than nothing) for a given set of speakers and try it for different codecs, i.e. UHD, Auro, the newish version of Atmos if/when a second generation comes to the consumer A/V market, etc. In that sense it would be no different than using DTS True-HD vs. DD Plus for a 5.1 or 7.1 setup, as long as you have the speakers to support 9/11 channels.

Not as nuts as it sounds if you think about how some of us demo speakers or subs in our home, and still potentially cheaper than the hunk of metal you're buying just to have Atmos. But you need something other than a DSP-based AVR or pre/pro to make it work, or at least more powerful chips than the Japanese manufacturers use. That also helps avoid tradeoffs like the one Onkyo made: dumping Audyssey so they wouldn't have to add another DSP or swap DSPs to include Atmos. Just as stupid as the 32-bit Windows memory limitation to 4 GB RAM being a bottleneck to software app development for many years, in my view, until Microsoft developed stable versions of 64-bit Windows 7. The consumer A/V world needs to step up to the plate and join the proverbial 64-bit processing world.

Well, off of the soapbox and back to the usual discussion hijinks.....
 
#4,284 ·
Glad you found it useful. Front Heights + Top Middles as an 'approved' combination is also great news for me! ....
If you are talking about having Front Height speakers in the same location I've been using them for PLIIz that is great news for me as well...also if Top Middle means right above our MLP we could be good to go. :)

Unfortunately a new Monitor is going to be our first concern and convincing my wife that whatever she remembers about me saying about the Denon AVR-4311ci being the last piece of audio equipment we will need until the warranty runs out hopefully will be forgotten, but my guess is I won't be an early adapter...

Thanks Keith for all of your effort and excitement.
 
#4,285 ·
I hope, though, that everyone elses' Atmos related products will be all wired up and allowed to "do their thing." I would rather not have just a bunch of mockups to stare at while I'm at CEDIA. :D
Yes, I will be sorely disappointed if I don't get to hear an actual demo or two at CEDIA. Including, preferably, at least one in a room outside the main floor. Even the sound rooms on the main floor have quite a lot of background noise to deal with.
 
#4,286 · (Edited)
You have to tell the AVR you have OH's, not heights... it's my undemanding that the AVR won't decode Atmos without those speakers being present.

While you can certainly "fool" the AVR into telling it you have OH's, it's not going to be a good gauge to "try it out..." The mixes will "fall apart." ...

I asked one of my contacts at Dolby about the use of heights and they didn't think it would work well either.

Why Denon seems to allow this is odd to me.

Just my .02.
Wait...I gather you are talking about using Heights alone and not in conjunction with a pair of Top Middles, correct?

EDIT: Never mind--I've seen it's already been asked and answered-sorry.
 
#4,287 ·
I know it stretches credulity when people say that they actually prefer the Atmos speakers to physical ceiling speakers, but when you get to hear them you will see why they say this. Atmos speakers/modules are no sort of compromise at all really. The differences I hear between them and ceiling speakers are there, but it isn't a question of A is better than B, but rather that A and B are different and I like them both.
Could you tell how the in-ceiling speakers were oriented? Were they straight down as in previous demos, or aimed toward the MLP? If the former, thus far we have not heard of a demo where the ceiling speakers were aimed toward the MLP. Would that not factor in at all?
 
#4,289 ·
Wait...I gather you are talking about using Heights alone and not in conjunction with a pair of Top Middles, correct?

EDIT: Never mind--I've seen it's already been asked and answered-sorry.
Well, not really. I believe FilmMixer said that he remains skeptical regarding the use of heights in any configuration for Atmos rendering. I'd still like to hear more on this subject from him unless it's moot pending an actual demo.
 
#4,291 ·
Physical ceiling-mounted speakers do not rely on reflected sound to create the impression that sound is coming from above you. It actually IS coming from above you. Thus there is no need for a 'trick' to convince you that speakers mounted at ear level are really mounted above you.

The 'trick' is to convince you that speakers at ear level are in fact speakers above you.
By using the DSP in the AVR, it overrides/counteracts any sound from those ear-level speakers and prevents it (pyschoacoustically it seems) from reaching your ears (consciously).

This isn't needed when the speakers are physically above you.
DSP works in mysterious "good" ways. :cool:

____________

* Bonus video ::




____________

By the way, I'm going full blast Dolby Atmos. ... In 2015
 
#4,292 ·
Ya, the cost. Or the bank account statement. I could tell her that its her birthday gift next week. But, I dont think she'l quite believe me. You are right about the shoes and purses...

I purchased a VCR for my wife one time. She was very understanding.

It was a good one...last one I purchased.
 
#4,294 ·
They should, because sound is 50% of the total movie experience. ...Spatial Immersion.
It's more like 60%. People are more forgiving of video flaws (depending on the source material or story being conveyed) than substandard audio.

Studios need to allow more time for sound design work in their production schedules. That's a must.
 
#4,295 ·
It's more like 60%. People are more forgiving of video flaws (depending on the source material or story being conveyed) than substandard audio.
.
Mmmm.. Could be. Thought so too. Until we saw the Sony VPL VW500ES projector at work. Not even 4K content, just a Bond movie. It was stunning! It costs €10K, but it's miles ahead of the usual €2-3K bunch.
 
#4,296 · (Edited)
Markus, please forget my ignorance here but I saw that you already mentioned few times the term DI.
Is it Digitally Imported, or is it Seen & Heard, or some' else? ...TY
Looks like he means Directivity Index, which is a measure of how directional a speaker is. Higher numbers mean narrower dispersion, I believe, but I don't recall how it is computed from actual dispersion angles (which I am more accustomed to dealing with).
DI = Directivity index. It's a measure that relates a speaker's output at a specific angle to the overall energy the speaker emits at all angles.

You can explore the concept at http://gedlee.azurewebsites.net/Application Files/RunPolarMap.aspx
Red = power response
Black = DI
♦ When I searched for it (goggle) my two best shots were: - www.di.fm
And: - www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/594758/di

I don't follow. You first want to level the playing field before applying any additional processing, i.e. EQ first then apply HRTF-processing.


___________

* Bonus video ::



___________

** Beam Chip?



___________
___________

Question: Onkyo with Dolby Atmos & AccuEQ; AccuEQ does not EQ the two main front channel speakers. ...That we know for sure.
Does it EQ the subwoofer (.1 - LFE/Bass) channel; or not?
... It seems to be very vague here; what is the official confirmation, please? THX
 
#4,297 ·
Article posted August 14,2014....Is this the DTS answer? Nothing posted at DTS website however..!:cool:
http://widescreenreview.com/news_detail.php?id=20166
That's a reprint of the press release from January 2014.. it's not new.

The only articles on WSR this week about Atmos was a link to the Hollywood Reporter story.. other than that there are " headline" stories about Auro and DTS.. hmmm.

Strange as Gary Reber sat across from me at the press Q and A..... wonder why they haven't mentioned it on their site yet but then post a reprint of an 8 month old CES DTS press release...

I'll be curious if DTS-UHD will be coded into TI's DSP solution, which both Yamaha and Pioneer currently employ. So far we've only heard about Cirrus in their PR..
 
#4,298 ·
Well, not really. I believe FilmMixer said that he remains skeptical regarding the use of heights in any configuration for Atmos rendering. I'd still like to hear more on this subject from him unless it's moot pending an actual demo.
Not much to say... doesn't make sense to me how this will provide an acceptable overhead sound field.. but until I hear it I won't know.
 
#4,299 ·
As I have yet to hear any type of atmos, I sure can imagine. And I know its been mentioned. But I hope we get the content. I feel good about it. New theaters being built or modified with it. But waiting is a must for me. I thought ( me no think good sometimes ) neo : x was to be something. When I heard the test track on th expendables 2 disc, I just knew my 4520 avr was going to be the bomb. ( it is a great avr ) Best ive ever had. Hell, better than any anybody I know has. But we know how that fell through. But seeing the theaters are adding this technology. This gives me a little more hope.

Bring it, bring it bad, and bring it loud.....
 
#4,300 ·
I'll be curious if DTS-UHD will be coded into TI's DSP solution, which both Yamaha and Pioneer currently employ. So far we've only heard about Cirrus in their PR..

Supposedly "continued interest in DTS-UHD" was mentioned during the DTS second quarter fiscal 2014 earnings conference call, Monday, August 11, 2014.

_
 
Top